Tuesday, October 18, 2005

in 2553 AUC, slavery is officially outlawed within the borders of the Roman Republic. The move is hailed as a progressive step forward by liberals within the Republic, but many conservatives feel they are giving up a part of their culture extending back thousands of years. The former slaves tend to side with the liberals.

in 1890, Charles Brigman and dozens of his rebel Mormon followers storm into Salt Lake City, guns blazing, killing those they deem collaborators and federal troops there to rescue citizens who have been hurt by the explosions two days ago. With his troops spread thin across the city on rescue missions, Colonel Beauregard T. Jackson is unable to retaliate effectively against Brigman, and the rebel Latter-Day Saint escapes again.

in 1898, resistance fighters on the Spanish island of Puerto Rico kill 45 American soldiers attempting to pacify the island. Although Spain has formally ceded the island to the U.S. in order to end the Spanish-American War, Puerto Ricans continue to fight for another 2 years before finally being conquered by the U.S. The island becomes a hotbed of anti-American sedition, raising assassins who bomb the Congress and kill President Truman in their quest for freedom.

in 1922, the controversial film Robin Hood opens at Grauman's Egyptian Theater in Hollywood without its leading man in attendance; star Douglas Fairbanks was in prison for a publicity stunt he had pulled two weeks before. He and a couple of stuntmen had climbed a New York hotel and shot arows around the neighborhood while photographers snapped pictures; unfortunately for Mr. Fairbanks, he was not as accurate as the character he was portraying, and wounded a man on the street below. He served 6 months for assault with a deadly weapon.

in 1926, Charles “Chuck” Berry is born in St. Louis, Missouri. He is often considered one of the founding fathers of the “rock and roll” musical style that was such a fad in the 1950's, but like his musical genre, his popularity proved ephemeral, and today is unknown outside of musical academia.

in 1931, Thomas Edison dies. His electrical inventions such as the Eddie, Maggie and electric car revolutionized America and gave it the tools with which to spring forth into the 20th century as the greatest inventive power ever known on earth. President Herbert Hoover called him the greatest American since Thomas Jefferson at his funeral in New Jersey.

in 1939, fascist counter-revolutionary Lee Harvey Oswald was born in the Soviet of Texas, in Fort Worth. In spite of spending part of his youth in the People’s Marine Corps, Oswald was seduced by capitalist reactionaries and their influence caused him to assassinate Comrade President Joel Rosenberg in 1962. All available evidence points to him being a lone gunman, but many on the lunatic fringe of society believe he was part of a larger conspiracy.

in 1968, John Lennon, former bandmate of international superstar Pete Best, is arrested on drug charges after a London sergeant noticed him buying drugs in a local park. Although Best anonymously pays for a good lawyer for his old friend, Lennon is sentenced to a year in jail; he comes out of it straight and with new purpose, and turns to writing the memoir of his time with Best that will eventually become a bestseller.

in 2002, the Pentagon is unhappy about the loss of one of their stolen craft, but Professor Thomas and Dr. Courtney explain that it was necessary in order to prevent the loss of the rest. Although the Pentagon feels that their pilots could have handled the small number of ships that were confronted, the scientists are adamant that there was no other way to save the rest of the ships.

in 2003, Pope Righteous I issues an edict forbidding any Christian of the Holy British Empire from dealing in any way with Estellians, on penalty of excommunication. He also makes excommunication punishable by death. A dozen Estellians are rounded up that day and hung in the courtyard of Buckingham Cathedral, to prove his point.

TIAH HALLOWEEN CONTEST: EXTENDED BY 5 DAYS - no donation required, just send us your stuff! Only 7 days left! We're extending the deadline to October 25th to give you more time to get in those entries!

In order to give us a tad more time for Halloween, Today In Alternate History is sponsoring its first contest - email us up to 3 alternate history entries for October 31st, 2005. The best 10 entries will make up the entire content of the post on October 31st, Halloween day. Entries must be received by October 25th! Boring Legal Info - By entering the contest, you grant TIAH the right to electronically print your writing on October 31st, 2005, maintain your writing in our archives, and reprint your entry should we decide to reuse it in the future. TIAH only maintains full copyright over material it has originated that has been used by contestants in writing their own entries. Enter early and often!

Also, we still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!

Forum Link not working for now - Forum has been hacked! We're working on getting it back, and will let you know once it's back up.Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com

Still wishing...

As your humble alternate historian enters the downhill slope of the 40's, he still has his birthday wish - a contract with a publishing company like Workman Publishing to produce a page-a-day calendar of TIAH. If you are an editor for such a company, or can place us in touch with one, please fulfill this belated birthday wish!

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